Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 393

Amateur Radio Weekly

AST SpaceMobile defends use of Ham Radio spectrum
AST SpaceMobile plans to use the spectrum in a limited capacity.
PC Mag

Hams worried about AST SpaceMobile’s satellite plans
If similar authorizations are granted to other commercial operators, the 430-440 MHz band could gradually become unusable.
PC Mag

But wait, there’s more
Opulent Voice demonstration conference server beta test now open.
Open Research Institute

Born again Apple Mac geek thanks to Amateur “Ham” Radio
The most surprising and one of the best things about my rediscovery of radio is how it’s converged with computers and the Mac.
Andrew Woodward

What is the ESA FutureGEO project?
ORI’s response to the call for participation from AMSAT-DL concerning the FutureGEO project, sponsored by the European Space Agency.
Open Research Institute

NOAA 15 and 19 to be decommissioned within the next two weeks
NOAA has completed end of life testing activities for NOAA-15 and NOAA-19 and will commence the decommission process shortly.
RTL-SDR

How to receive stunning weather images from Meteor-M2 satellites
These polar-orbiting weather satellites beam down digital Low Rate Picture Transmission (LRPT) signals at 137 MHz.
VU3DXR

2025 one Hertz challenge: Learn Morse Code one second at a time
A message beeps out in Morse, with a corresponding LED flash, all in one second.
Hackaday

Great places to scan the dial
A summer trip to the Alabama mountains to tune the FM band.
Radio World

APRSD
Ham Radio APRS-IS message platform software
APRSD

A collection of Mode S and ADS-B tools and resources
Includes pyModeS, The 1090 Megahertz Riddle, and more.
Mode-S.org

Rapid deployment field expedient random Wire antenna ideas
Rule 1: It has to fit inside the briefcase.
Hame Radio Outside the Box

Video

W4USA station tour
Underground station features an extensive Ham Radio setup.
W4USA

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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 392

Amateur Radio Weekly

ARPS.Chat – Send and receive APRS messages globally
Enabling operators to never miss a message, even when their radios are turned off.
RTL-SDR

Introducing Radio Alpha, the ARRL Museum and Research Library
There’s a new resource from ARRL documenting the history of Ham Radio.
ARRL

Texting with M17 just got easier
The most convenient one is to use KD0OSS’s fork of OpenRTX.
M17 Project

Introducing RTQM, QRZ’s Real Time QSO Manager
It’s a way to call CQ silently, as well as a way to know exactly when stations are standing by.
QRZ

Converting your WPSD hotspot to WPSD-M17
Follow my steps to successfully convert your hotspot running WPSD to the forked version that supports M17.
The Random Wire

Opulent Voice Conference Server
Test plan & user guide.
Open Research Institute

Decoding Meshtastic with GNURadio on a Raspberry Pi
A portable display using a Raspberry Pi 5.
Jeff Geerling

30 Meter Delta Loop
Although it’s simple, it is worth an article.
VE3VN

It’s more than just the tech: Lessons learned in funding R&D
R&D projects had the greatest number of uncertain outcomes compared to other categories.
ARDC

Gray line: The Twilight Zone of radio propagation
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of gray line propagation—also known as the magical twilight zone of HF radio.
OnAllBands

A lightweight M17 hotspot
A lightweight M17 hotspot based on the CC1200 and a Raspberry Pi.
RZ01.org

Video

If you build it, they will come
Let’s build a packet radio repeater including AX.25 networking, NET/ROM node services and a Winlink email server.
KM6LYW

Desert island Ham Radio – IOTA EU-179 activation
This video documents our 6-day expedition to a remote desert island in the Black Sea during IOTA Contest 2021.
Man with the Antenna

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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 391

Amateur Radio Weekly

Hams access crucial hurricane data after US DoD cut it off
Amateur-built decoder taps SSMIS satellite data amid NOAA cutoff.
The Register

Modern satellite tracking for Amateur Radio
Use online or self-host.
Zenith Satellite Tracker

Get a load of this…
Ground-mounted verticals are all the rage these days in portable HF operations.
K4FMH

AmComm DMR Network
DMR Done Right!
AmComm DMR Network

It’s time to put NOAA Weather Radio in cars
The service would be more effective than AM radio.
Radio World

Meet the hobbyists behind today’s smartest radios
Across generations and continents, FM DXers embrace open-source tools to tune into distant signals.
Radio World

Take a long hard look at our community…
The strength of a community depends entirely on the members of that community.
VK6FLAB

The definitive S-band satellite guide
You’ll quickly discover a new world of satellite radio. And what a varied world it is!
Jacopo’s Lair

WPSD-M17 community fork
A group of amateur radio operators led by Michael DK1MI, prepared a WPSD fork, bringing back its M17 support.
M17 Project

Does an antenna top hat really work?
Top hats provide capacitance with respect to ground.
Ham Radio Outside the Box

Why is the G5RV such a poor Antenna?
It’s a compromise.
VE3IPS

Video

Cornstalk dipole antenna
It’s cornstalk antenna season in Iowa where the plants are juicy.
Ham Radio QRP

HydraSDR RFone
A new high performance software defined radio.
Tech Minds

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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 390

Amateur Radio Weekly

Thoughts on Open Source and M17
It is exceptionally unfortunate that no warning was given to the thousands of users in our community who use MMDVM and WPSD software.
The Random Wire

Building the CC1200 M17 Hotspot
This small device can be plugged on the Raspberry Pi Zero’s GPIO pins and will then act as a M17 hotspot.
RZ01

Radio Relay International and ARRL sign memorandum of understanding
Future plans for the improvement of NTS include the development of additional robust HF digital networks.
ARRL

What’s new at Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications — Packet Radio History
I’ve got huge news for fans of packet radio and packet radio historians: in the last month, the DLARC library has digitized reams of historical documents detailing the birth of packet radio specs, software, and hardware.
Zero Retries

MeshCore: A Meshtastic alternative
“Unlimited” hops, more intuitive system helps this project shine.
MeshCore

Radio hobbyists, Rejoice! good news for LoRa & mesh
A set of radio devices and technologies are opening the doorway to new and revolutionary forms of communication.
EFF

Ham Radio users clash with Starlink Rival AST SpaceMobile over spectrum use
AST wants to use the 430 to 440MHz band for a satellite-to-phone service.
PC Mag

Alternative firmwares for ATS Mini Radio: A technical guide
The ATS Mini DSP radio is a marvel of portable digital signal processing (DSP) radio technology.
DXR Electronics Bits

Handwritten notes, Ham Radio help rescue mother, son lost in California forest
The Ham operator then contacted the El Dorado 911 center, which provided the information to Calaveras Dispatch.
KTLA

Video

This new digital voice mode will impress you
RADE uses just 1.5KHz but can produce 8KHz of audio.
Tech Minds

70cm high power amplifier build
Modifying a commercial UHF pallet for use with 70cm.
Tech Minds

Full guide to setting up HF APRS with YAAC and VARA for beginners
This step-by-step tutorial walks you through the entire configuration process using Linux Mint, making it easy for ham radio operators to get started with HF APRS over VARA on a Linux system.
KM4ACK

An incredibly well-produced local news segment on Ham Radio
At this Ohio Ham Radio competition, every connection makes a difference.
WKYC

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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 389

Amateur Radio Weekly

Local Hams respond to Texas floods
A description and pictures of local Ham Radio operators in action and how you can assist.
RV Radio Network

Hamshack Hotline public announcement – A fond farewell
What began in 2018 as a simple idea in the humble closet of K1WIZ quickly grew into something none of us could have imagined.
Hamshack Hotline

A tragic reminder: Safety must come first in the field
It’s with a heavy heart that I share news of a tragic accident that took the life of fellow ham radio operator and POTA enthusiast, Tripp Owens (N4NTO).
QRPer

SSTV from the ISS in July
An ARISS SSTV event from the International Space Station will begin no earlier than July 14.
AMSAT-UK

Hams.at and SatMatch – great tools for sat schedules
If you would like to publish your satellite activations and calculate satellite overlap passes I can highly recommend Hams.At and SatMatch.
AMSAT-SM

An Outside the Box version of the Delta Loop antenna
I bent the rules but the end result is worthy of making the trip to the field this summer.
Ham Radio Outside the Box

Great numbers stacking up for 2025 ARRL Field Day
There were 1,810 media mentions of ARRL Field Day year-to-date, a 70% increase from 2024.
ARRL

M17 modification for the Baofeng DM-1701
This inexpensive radio needs to be modded before you can transmit in M17.
RX01

A POTA procedural proposal
A way to do a joint CW activation like many phone operators do.
KB6NU

The Young Ham of the Year for 2025
Katie Campbell, KE8LQR.
Amateur Radio Newsline

The fatigue you can hear
A guide to listener burnout.
Delta-Alfa

Amateur Radio club sends transmitter into the sky
Using the WSPR protocol, the beacon transmits location, altitude, wind speed, temperature and solar panel voltage data every 10 minutes.
George Herald

Amateur band Sudoku puzzle
Fill each row, column, and 3×3 box with all 9 amateur bands.
Open Research Institute

Video

2025 Ham Radio Field Day operations above Mount Saint Helens
This flight was conducted for the purpose of the Ham Radio annual field day event.
W7NY

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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 388

Amateur Radio Weekly

2025 ARRL Field Day a success
Tens of thousands of Hams are celebrating a successful 2025 ARRL Field Day.
ARRL

Ham Radio enthusiasts gather in township for Field Day activities
The group was one of more than 10,000 Ham Radio operators across the United States and Canada taking part in Field Day.
Franklin Reporter & Advocate

Field Day 2025
Once again the Plattsmouth Amateur Radio Club held annual Field Day operations at Young Park in Murray Nebraska.
N8VCL

The antenna that won Field Day 2025
My quest for the best vertical delta loop antenna.
KB9VBR

Registration for ZRDC 2025 now open
Registration offers in-person access and virtual attendance options to attend the inaugural Zero Retries Digital Conference 2025.
Zero Retries Digital Conference

Why I started an Amateur Radio club in my school
Amateur Radio can open up a new world of opportunities for students, says teacher Chris Aitken, who shares his tips on how to start a club.
tes magazine

Traveling with Meshtastic
My device saw quite a few others along the way.
marxy’s musing on technology

Roger Smallwood (N8EKG) of R&L Electronics SK
Mr. Smallwood supported Hamvention and was a life member of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association.
DARA

Z-Sat VHF transmissions
Z-Sat carries an amateur radio payload that was coordinated by IARU and which consists of a BBS (bulletin board system) with a 145.875 MHz downlink and 435.480 MHz uplink.
EA4GPZ / M0HXM

HamSCI Meteor Scatter QSO Party
Work the rocks, decode the pings Aug 11-12 and Dec 12-13, 2025.
HamSCI

Youth Ham Radio insights
A Visit to the 2025 Friedrichshafen Ham Fair in Germany.
OnAllBands

Video

Titanic’s lost radio room found: What’s still inside?
Imagine hearing Titanic’s distress signal after 113 years.
History X

How much trouble did we have with 2025 ARRL Field day as a QRP station?
This is the one event that is deliberately geared towards informing the public about Ham Radio in an outdoor environment with a light hearted attitude.
Ham Radio Today

HAM RADIO 2025
This is a video of a visit to HAM RADIO 2025 at Friedrichshafen. The largest and best Ham Radio event in Europe.
MaltbyRadio

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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 387

Amateur Radio Weekly

Field Day locator
To find a location near you, type in your town and state.
ARRL

Field Day safety – Tips from an experienced compliance officer
One of the many ways to earn bonus points during ARRL Field Day is to have a Safety Officer on site.
ARRL

For-proft AST SpaceMobile Seeks Use of 70 cm Amateur Band
The company has a history of impeding on Ham Radio bands.
Amateur Radio Daily

The APRS Documentation Project
It’s hard to find good information on APRS. A web search produces mostly outdated misinformation.
WB2OSZ

Packet Commander
The terminal app for AX.25 packet radio on iOS.
Packet Commander

The M17 Nokia 3310
This board enables FM/FSK/M17 communication on the 70cm band and turns the good old 3310 into an interesting toy in conjunction with the M17 project.
RZ01

What’s new at Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications
My new favorite example is Neil Carleton VE3NCE’s “Radio Stamps” radio show, which celebrated the intersection of radio and philately. His specialty was stamps about radio.
Kay Savetz K6KJN and Zero Retries

Toilets on the Air (TOTA)
Yes, Toilets on the Air. But before you flush the idea entirely (sorry!) read on…
QRPer

Satellite paint experiment tackles light pollution
What is blacker than black? It’s the super black paint designed it to absorb 98 percent of light. AMSAT-UK will use it on an upcoming mission.
Amateur Radio Newsline

A new radiosonde decoder and tracker program for Windows
The received data can be sent to servers such as Radiosondy, Wettersonde, or other APRS-based weather radiosonde servers.
RTL-SDR

Ham radio network celebrating 50th anniversary
The Burning River Traffic Net is turning 50.
The Chronicle

Video

How we used APRS to enhance our operation
This is how we used ham radio and APRS at the air show.
KM4ACK

Meet Audrey, an amazing Ham
Audrey, KM4BUN, is a young leader in Ham Radio with multiple awards and accomplishments, soon finishing an electrical engineering degree at Georgia Tech.
Ham Radio Perspectives

Decoding SSTV transmissions from the QO-100 satellite
How to set up the virtual audio cable and the decoding software.
dereksgc

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  • Matt W1MST, Managing Editor